Read and Rewind

Published
by
Kristen
on July 17, 2008
in Tips and Wisdom
. 1 Comment

More than a million viewers have watched a YouTube video posted by law student Brian Finkelstein, who filmed a Comcast technician who fell asleep on his couch in 2006, waiting on hold for help from the Comcast home office to fix an Internet problem.  This video is now the top result when typing “Comcast” into the search box on YouTube.

Wait!  Before you go to YouTube, what was in your head when you read that excerpt? 

…

When I first read it, I saw a large burly man in a big, bluish-gray zip-up suit, completely reclined on a cheap couch – neck thrown back, mouth slightly ajar, ear to the phone. 

When I read it again to my parents, I could hear his snoring and a female operator listing hold options to the tune of cheesy jazz music.

When I read it a third time to my sister, the Comcast guy also had his hand in a half eaten bag of potato chips.  I guess he had taken it from the law student’s kitchen… 

Then we all went to YouTube.

What a letdown.  The 58 second video was funny like a Shakespearian comedy is funny – the plot was ironic and unexpected.  But it was just a Comcast “expert” wearing a red shirt and sitting on a couch with his eyes closed, while some angry messages from the student to Comcast appear.  That was it.

The sentence on its own though had made for the best comedy sketch in my mind. 

A picture might be worth a thousand words.  A motion picture might be worth millions. But words – words are truly worth an infinite amount of imagination. 

Ever feel like we underestimate that idea these days?

—————————————————-
Excerpt taken from “Groundswell.”  By Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.  Boston: Harvard Business Press, 2008.

TBR: The Wisdom of Crowds

Published
by
Kristen
on July 7, 2008
in Truby Book Review (TBR)
. 1 Comment

Amateur Afterthoughts:  The title could have been “The Wisdom of One Man” because author James Surowiecki impressively exemplifies his theory – that large groups of people are collectively smarter than the smartest individuals themselves – through countless examples from past and present world affairs.  Diverse and thought-provoking, Surowiecki’s selection takes us from ocean floor to outer space, from a New Mexico bar to a field goal post, Detroit’s first car to Zara’s latest shipment, gangster films, traffic jams – the list goes on and on.  This actually creates a conflict - you’re learning so much from each paragraph that it’s hard to remember what you read on the page prior.  The reading experience is best described as “fleeting factual fun.”

Truby Takeaway:  The knowledge must sink into the subconscious somehow because it can be applied instantaneously.  For instance, barely into chapter three, I found myself jogging around Washington DC.  Normally, I cross streets wherever and whenever I want.  Citing the pedestrian’s right of way, I basically run amuck with everyone else.  But I quickly noticed that on these streets, no one else’s feet were as arrogant as mine.  Everyone was standing at the crosswalks waiting for the little white man to light up for permission to go.  Were they just an obedient bunch of tourists OR were police officers in DC more likely to ticket jaywalkers?  I opted to wait and walk with the wisdom of this crowd.  I’ll never know what could have happened had I chose to walk my way but I definitely felt like I had championed my inner intellect in knowing why I acted like I did.  At the very least, it balanced out the feeling of inadequacy that resulted when I tried to pronounce the author’s last name…

Rockin’ in the Free World

Published
by
Kristen
on July 3, 2008
in News and Smart Talk
. 2 Comments

Happy Birthday America!  Tomorrow our country turns 232 years old and how are we celebrating?

Let’s see – nonfarm payrolls fell by 62,000 jobs.  Unemployment held at 5.5%.  Prices are up.  Spending is down.  Oil hit another record high.  Stocks stumbled to a real low.  Housing market – bad.  Credit industry – worse.  American car companies – doomed? 

To put it in terms of sparklers, Fourth of July 2008 is seeing more fired than work.

Not surprisingly, the number of companies that are hiring college graduates this summer is down 17% from last year.  A statistic like that could lead to depression, anger and stress.  To put it in terms of patriotism – down with the blues, a face burning red, and hair turned white.

But there is a surprising stat or two – nonprofit organizations saw big jumps in their applications from college graduates:  Teach for America went up 36%, Harvard’s WorldTeach up 33%, The Peace Corps up 16%, and Jesuit Volunteer Corps up 14%. 

Oh say can you see the altruism?  This wasn’t some last resort for kids wanting to bypass a bad job market with a two year free ride and travel perk.  Today’s graduates really do want to help underprivileged communities and change the world for the better.

America is the land of opportunity.  The streets might not be paved with gold but we have our freedom of choice.  It’s the freedom to sit on the couch in our parents’ basement with a bag of generic brand cheese balls and blame unemployment on a bad economy.  And it’s also the freedom to go out and share our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness with those less fortunate. 

Let’s celebrate that a large portion of our generation is choosing the latter.  232 might just be a great year for all of US.

Inspired by “Payrolls Shrank Again in June; Jobless Rate Steady at 5.5%.” By Jeff Bater.  The Wall Street Journal.  July 3, 2008.

Inspired by “Altruism Meets a Weak Job Market.”  By Anne Marie Chaker.  The Wall Street Journal.  July 3, 2008.

Inspired by “Dow Falls 166.75 to Bear-Market Level As Investors Focus on GM, Oil Record.”  By Peter A. McKay.  The Wall Street Journal.  July 3, 2008.

DON’T READ THE HEADLINE

Published
by
Kristen
on July 1, 2008
in Tips and Wisdom
. 0 Comments

HEY!  Did you just read the words above after I told you not to???

I used to believe that skimming the headlines gives us a little about a lot while reading the story gives us a lot about a little.

But on Sunday morning, Comcast.net prompted me with a headline that ran like “Teen killed by Six Flags roller coaster.”  Though I cannot remember nor find the exact words of this headline, I know what I derived from it: That increasingly shady theme park was responsible for yet another premature and tragic death.  In my head, those six flags were all red ones.

On Monday morning, the only headline I found regarding this story on Comcast.net was “Family mourns teen hit by roller coaster in Ga.”

What really happened was that the teen had jumped two six-foot fences, ending up in an unauthorized area that was clearly marked off with warning signs, where he was then fatally struck by the roller coaster.

As sad as this story is, I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before we need to put fences and warning signs around headlines.  The original headline of this story was more gripping but also more misleading.  It almost seems that reporters are now advertisers for their own stories, desperate for the click-through customer.

But just as wrong as I was to automatically blame Six Flags for this teen’s death, I’m wrong to blame the reporters for my misinformation.  And as more headlines hit our screens, and more revenue becomes dependent on click-throughs, we have to face the facts by finding them.

The bad news is that we’re going to have to start reading the entire story.  But the good news is that we’ll actually know what we’re talking about.

Inspired by “Family mourns teen hit by roller coaster in Ga.”  The Associated Press.  June 29, 2008. http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1031096,sixflags062908.article

A Punk’s View of Facebook

Published
by
Kristen
on June 16, 2008
in News and Smart Talk
. 0 Comments

39% of 18-24 year-olds would consider leaving their jobs if Facebook was blocked at work, according to a report from vnunet.com.  This information came across my desktop via a blog titled “Lack of Facebook Access Makes You Want to Quit? Grow up, Punks.”

Wait, we’re the ones who should grow up?  You first, name-caller!

I’ll agree with the blogger that “Facebook offers little the average worker can use for work.”  I basically sign on for three reasons during work hours: to read newfeeds on friends, to write responses to wall posts, and to scrutinize recently posted pictures and promptly untag if embarrassing/hideous.

There is an indirect benefit to employers however.  Reading, writing, and scrutinizing with immediacy, attention to detail, and entertaining value - these activities are not kept exclusive to socializing but they cross right over into job skills when processing information regarding business, responding to co-worker or client emails, and determining what looks good to the public eye.

In this sense, Facebook isn’t slowing business down or hindering output.  It’s setting a faster pace while constantly updating our awareness of which words and images create interest.  Isn’t this a goal of growing businesses?

The blogger also asserts that “those who’d quit a job over Facebook just want to be able to do what they want, at any time.”  Well, with cell phones, laptops and Blackberries, we are virtually expected to be available – any time, even if we don’t want to – for our company.  So scheduling some of our free time to research our crush’s favorite movies, music and quotes is but a luxury of the past.

And for a final thought - without the 18-24 year-olds in the office, who is going to explain to senior staff members what a poke is when they end up getting Facebook?

Inspired by “Lack of Facebook Access Makes You Want to Quit?  Grow up, Punks.”  By Ann All.  ITBusinessEdge.  6 June 2008.  http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/tve/?p=338